Princess Anne ‘potters’ around

We all potter around some days, but Princess Anne took this to a whole new level on Friday 25th July as she visited Highland Stoneware in Lochinver.

The Princess Royal visited the West Highland pottery in order to mark their 40th anniversary and whilst there, given a personal tour of the workshop, where she viewed the processes that make Highland Stoneware’s hand-made, quality pottery.

The company began in 1974 by David Grant and he was more than enthusiastic to share his thoughts about the Royal visit, “It has been a fantastic day with so many of our stockists, neighbours and visitors joining us to welcome HRH The Princess Royal”.

It wasn’t just the adults who were on hand to welcome Anne either, local children were also in attendance at the workshop where they showcased their artistic talents which included painting some hand-made plates. One wonders how many of these plates Princess Anne received before her departure.

Mr Grant continued, “To have The Princess Royal in our workshop, to see in detail the care, attention and quality we put into every stage of the production process has given our entire staff and supporters a great boost. We look forward with vigour to what the next 40 years will bring for the company”.

Also keen to comment on the visit was Keith Muir, head of business growth at Highlands and Islands Enterprise, adding “Today’s visit is a fitting occasion to mark the accomplishment of the business, which also helps keep Lochinver and the surrounding areas as a ‘go to’ tourist destination, generating vibrancy and visitors feeding directly in to the local community”.

The Royal visit wasn’t the end of the festivities for the pottery as the staff then held an Open Day to again celebrate the milestone anniversary. Events included pot throwing, plate painting and face painting with funds that were raised going to Save the Children.